A 2024 Christopher Award Winner
"A gut-wrenching, wildly inspiring story about overcoming the most daunting obstacles through steely tenacity, sheer will, and a great big dose of motherly love."
—Jeannette Walls, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle
"Unexpectedly powerful...I couldn't put this memoir down. It's as true a tale of grit as I've ever heard, with a message filled with triumph and beauty—that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, if we are loved."
—Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit
“An inspirational, empowering chronicle...While the story of the author's lifesaving adoption is heartfelt and touching, her journey to unprecedented athletic success is the thrilling heart of the memoir....[The book] also serves as a powerful teaching tool for younger readers facing similar circumstances.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"Oksana Masters’ riveting journey of survival, perseverance, and triumph is much more than an uplifting sports story. From the darkness and despair of life in a Ukrainian orphanage to the top of the Paralympic medal podium, Masters has written a story for our times. She is a remarkable athlete. She is a heroic and trailblazing woman. She is an American treasure."
—Christine Brennan, USA Today columnist, author of Best Seat in the House, and commentator for CNN, ABC News, and PBS NewsHour
"Heart wrenching and extraordinary. The Hard Parts is a remarkable memoir of coping with trauma, but it's mostly about courage and achieving the impossible. I'm completely in awe of Oskana and her resilience—what an inspiration."
—Ariana Neumann, New York Times bestselling author of When Time Stopped
“Gripping, powerful, and inspiring. As a fellow athlete, I appreciate the commitment and discipline it takes to succeed, but Oksana is on another level altogether. “
—Tony Hawk, 16-time X Game Medalist in skateboarding
“Powerful... This book is not only for sports fans but also for the multitude of readers who will likely want to learn more about this remarkable and courageous woman. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“The Hard Parts takes us from heartache to courage, from crushing disabilities to exemplary talents, from hopelessness to sky-high aspiration. Here is a young woman who persists with a fierce, undeniable optimism, no matter how devastating the challenges she has faced. Add to this timely story Oksana’s beginnings within the tragic backdrop of a Ukrainian orphanage. A hero lives among us.”
—Diana Nyad, author of Find a Way, and the only person ever to swim 110 miles between Cuba and Florida
"A book of rare quality...In these pages, not only does Oksana Masters triumph over tremendous odds but her victories are so multiple and her courage crosses so many different fronts that she forces us to rethink the term 'Greatest Ever.' Move aside GOATS and make a place for her."
—Sally Jenkins, sports columnist for the Washington Post, bestselling coauthor of Sum It Up, with Pat Summit, and It’s Not About the Bike, with Lance Armstrong
“Oksana has become a record-shattering champion in four sports by continually testing her limits. Like all the greats, she lives on the edge of fear and uses every setback she’s ever had to ask more of herself. A revealing parting of the curtain, THE HARD PARTS is a candid—and often poignant—account of the challenges Oksana overcame along the way to becoming the best ever, and it’s more inspiring than words could ever convey.”
—Mikaela Shiffrin, Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and four-time Overall World Cup Ski Champion
The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph
Narrated by Emily Tremaine
Oksana MastersUnabridged — 10 hours, 57 minutes
The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph
Narrated by Emily Tremaine
Oksana MastersUnabridged — 10 hours, 57 minutes
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Overview
“A gut-wrenching, wildly inspiring story about overcoming the most daunting obstacles through steely tenacity, sheer will, and a great big dose of motherly love.” -Jeannette Walls, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle
An inspirational and powerful memoir from the United States's most decorated winter Paralympic or Olympic athlete, The Hard Parts is Oksana Masters's gripping account of overcoming extraordinary Chernobyl disaster-caused physical challenges to create a life that challenges everyone to push through what is holding them back.
Oksana Masters was born in Ukraine-in the shadow of Chernobyl-seemingly with the odds stacked against her. She came into the world with one kidney, a partial stomach, six toes on each foot, webbed fingers, no right bicep, and no thumbs. Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right, and she was missing both tibias.
Relinquished to the orphanage system by birth parents daunted by the staggering cost of what would be their child's medical care, Oksana encountered numerous abuses, some horrifying. Salvation came at age seven when Gay Masters, an unmarried American professor who saw a photo of the little girl and became haunted by her eyes, waged a two-year war against stubborn adoption authorities to rescue Oksana from her circumstances.
In America, Oksana endured years of operations that included a double leg amputation. Still, how could she hope to fit in when there were so many things making her different?
As it turned out, she would do much more than fit in. Determined to prove herself and fueled by a drive to succeed that still smoldered from childhood, Oksana triumphed in not just one sport but four-winning against the world's best in elite rowing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and road cycling competitions. Now considered one of the world's top athletes, she is the recipient of seventeen Paralympic medals, the most of any US athlete of the Winter Games, Paralympic or Olympic.
Oksana's astonishing story of journeying through a series of dark tunnels is “as true a tale of grit as I've ever heard, with a message filled with triumph and beauty-that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, if we are loved” (Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit).
Editorial Reviews
"Oksana has become a record-shattering champion in four sports by continually testing her limits. Like all the greats, she lives on the edge of fear and uses every setback she’s ever had to ask more of herself. A revealing parting of the curtain, THE HARD PARTS is a candid—and often poignant—account of the challenges Oksana overcame along the way to becoming the best ever, and it’s more inspiring than words could ever convey."
"Heart wrenching and extraordinary. The Hard Parts is a remarkable memoir of coping with trauma, but it's mostly about courage and achieving the impossible. I'm completely in awe of Oskana and her resilience—what an inspiration."
"Gripping, powerful, and inspiring. As a fellow athlete, I appreciate the commitment and discipline it takes to succeed, but Oksana is on another level altogether."
"Oksana Masters’ riveting journey of survival, perseverance, and triumph is much more than an uplifting sports story. From the darkness and despair of life in a Ukrainian orphanage to the top of the Paralympic medal podium, Masters has written a story for our times. She is a remarkable athlete. She is a heroic and trailblazing woman. She is an American treasure."
'Oksana's story is emotionally pounding, from her Dickensian childhood in Ukraine's orphanages to promising her mother a gold medal in the Paralympics. The Hard Parts is a street-fight for survival, then success. And it stretches our own notions of just how much we can take.'
Gripping, powerful, and inspiring.”
'The Hard Parts takes us from heartache to courage, from crushing disabilities to exemplary talents, from hopelessness to sky-high aspiration. Here is a young woman who persists with a fierce, undeniable optimism, no matter how devastating the challenges she has faced. Add to this timely story Oksana’s beginnings within the tragic backdrop of a Ukrainian orphanage. A hero lives among us.'
'Heart wrenching and extraordinary. The Hard Parts is a remarkable memoir of coping with trauma, but it's mostly about courage and achieving the impossible. I'm completely in awe of Oksana and her resilience – what an inspiration.'
'A book of rare quality... In these pages, not only does Oksana Masters triumph over tremendous odds but her victories are so multiple and her courage crosses so many different fronts that she forces us to rethink the term "Greatest Ever". Move aside GOATS and make a place for her.'
Gripping, powerful, and inspiring.”
★ 12/01/2022
The story of the United States' most decorated Winter Paralympian is a powerful one. Masters vividly describes how she moved from orphanage to orphanage in the Ukraine, endured a series of surgeries on her hands and an amputation of her legs, experienced setbacks and severe depression, and became a Paralympic champion. Since her birth mother experienced radiation poisoning effects of Chernobyl, Masters was born with one kidney, a partial stomach, six toes on each foot, webbed fingers, no right bicep, and no thumbs. Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right, and she was missing both tibias. Masters's life dramatically changed at age seven when she was adopted by Gay Masters, a single professor who brought the young Oksana to the United States. Oksana became interested in sports and eventually won elite rowing, biathlon, cross country skiing, and road cycling competitions. In her career, she's won 17 Paralympic medals. VERDICT This book is not only for sports fans but also for the multitude of readers who will likely want to learn more about this remarkable and courageous woman, who achieved her dream despite challenges. Highly recommended.—Lucy Heckman
2022-12-23
A Paralympics champion shares her journey from tragedy to greatness.
Masters was born in 1989 in Ukraine with a host of birth defects caused by her mother’s radiation exposure following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. “My legs don’t stand straight because I’m missing the weight-bearing bones below my knees, which makes walking awkward and slow on the bones I do have in there,” writes the author. “I was also born missing the enamel on my teeth, part of my stomach, my right biceps, and one kidney. The other kidney sits in the wrong spot in my body.” Relinquished to the government by her birthparents, she was further scarred by her experiences in abusive orphanages. At age 7, she was adopted by Gay Masters, an unmarried American speech pathologist. After relocating to the U.S., she began a series of grueling surgeries, including hand procedures and the removal of both legs above the knee. Despite difficulties assimilating to American culture, her unquenchable athletic spirit blazed on as she began adaptive rowing at age 13. The sport proved to be a “lighthouse through the violent storms, signaling the way to survival.” She worked her way into competitions in pararowing, cycling, cross-country skiing, and biathlon, and she represented the U.S. in the Paralympic Games, winning a groundbreaking succession of awards and endorsements. She has won 17 Paralympic medals, the most of any athlete in the Winter Games, and she also posed nude in ESPN’s 2012 Body Issue. While the story of her lifesaving adoption is heartfelt and touching, the author’s journey to unprecedented athletic success is the thrilling heart of the memoir. Narrated in amiable yet urgent prose, the text fully depicts her earnest struggle for identity and fight to overcome abandonment issues. Her confident story about overcoming odds also serves as a powerful teaching tool for younger readers facing similar circumstances.
An inspirational, empowering chronicle of athletic strength and personal resiliency.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940174913073 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | 02/21/2023 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 1,216,298 |
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